Reuters reports that during the Biden administration not only has oil production hit record highs but energy company profits, dividends, drilling permits, jobs and energy exports are all up.
Reuters reporters Prinz Magtulis, Nichola Groom, Jarrett Renshaw and Moira Warburton take a close look at the ongoing energy boom in the United States under the Biden administration.
“In Biden’s case, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed oil and gas prices so high that many producers worldwide made record profits, not just those in the United States. The global economic recovery that followed the darkest days of the COVID pandemic also rapidly pumped up demand for fossil fuels.
The profits of the top five publicly traded oil companies, for example — BP, Shell, Exxon, Chevron, and TotalEnergies — amounted to $410 billion during the first three years of the Biden administration, a 100% increase over the first three years of Donald Trump’s presidency, according to data compiled by Reuters.”
Driven by market forces U.S. oil production reached a record high of 12.5mbd in 2023 outpacing Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The U.S. also produces more natural gas than ever, pulling record volumes from wells that spread from Texas to Pennsylvania.
As a result, American ports are sending record volumes of both abroad, including to allies in Europe who are weaning themselves off Russia for energy supplies.
Biden’s signature climate law — the Inflation Reduction Act — includes billions of dollars in tax credits to help bolster green industries, and while that package has already triggered a rush of new manufacturing announcements, its full impact won’t be felt for years.
As a result jobs growth in U.S. fossil fuels has outpaced that in the renewable energy industries.
“The number of U.S. jobs in oil, gas, and coal rose by 11.3% during the first two years of Biden’s presidency, outpacing the 8.8% growth posted in solar and wind energy jobs, according to figures compiled by BW Research.
The discrepancy was even greater in terms of total jobs, with fossil fuels growing by nearly 80,000 compared with just over 38,000 for solar and wind, according to the BW figures.”
Commenting on oil companies’ surging share prices, Ed Hirs, an energy economist at the University of Houston noted “You could make an argument that the industry has been more productive, relatively speaking, under this president than ever before.”
He added that, “If Trump were president, he would be talking about the great oil boom in the United States, the great energy independence and be taking credit for the relatively low gas prices.”
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